5 Water Bottle Myths

Rehydration is an important part of any physical activity. If you are like me you will have a water bottle for when you go training. Beside the rehydration side, there is one other important thing to remember. Even though all you put in it is water, you actually need to clean your water bottle!

I have to do what?

That’s right you do actually have to clean your water bottle. I know you only keep water in it but germs thrive in moist environments and spread easily when the conditions are right. By not cleaning your bottle you are giving them a chance to grow. Realistically you should actually be cleaning it everyday!. I have to admit when I found this out it was not really a surprise. But if I am honest I am very guilty of not doing it.

Cleaning your water bottle doesn’t mean just rinsing it with… more water. You’ll need to use soap and hot water to get rid of germs. Also make sure you clean the cap throughly too. I also use sterilising tablets, mainly the ones for babies bottles. They are way cheaper than the brands like Camelpak. Plus if it gets stuff clean enough for a baby to drink from. That’s good enough for me.

This cleaning thing also applies to none reusable water bottles. If you are reusing your drinks bottle after you have finished off the drink, you still need to clean this. In fact it is even more important for these. As they are not meant to be reused, you have to be more careful with these. They are more prone to crack and crease. Giving areas that germs will love to hide away in and grow.

Overall, using any reusable bottle is much better than buying bottled water and immediately throwing the away the waste. Plastic bottles do present environmental issues. In Britain we fail to recycle over 16m plastic bottles a year. That’s a lot of plastic ending up in landfill. As well as the impacts on marine life. If you do use a plastic bottle make sure it goes in the recycling bin.

One last obvious thing. When purchasing a reusable bottle, look for bottles that are durable and will stand up to your daily use and punishment.